Golden Light

Got to the beach a little later yesterday afternoon.

Parked the car and noticed the dark sky in the northeast.

The sun was lowering in the southwest behind me and hitting everything in front of me.

Including this telephone pole.

Thinking Out Loud

The garden is full of metaphors any time of the year.

Take these leaves which have fallen from the Japanese Maple (Bloodgood) for example.

They are representative of the changes that this tree is now going through.

It is part of this plant's life's cycle to renew itself and shed all 'past appearances', it's leaves.

 It is now time for this plant to move forward and prepare itself for the next phase in it's life.

This all happens so automatically, it's as if it is on 'automatic pilot'.

These fallen leaves also play a part in this plant's future.

They will eventually decompose into the soil and supply nourishment

to, I guess, itself,

and help restart the whole process for years to come.

I know Botany 101 is not 'rocket science' my any stretch of the

imagination,

but it is a simple metaphor like this that can give us some perspective.

Birthday Wishes

This is a photo of my mother. It was probably taken in or around 1938.

That would be before she was married when she was still Mary MacIsaac.

I always like to look at photos of my parents before they had any idea

how their lives would unfold.

There is a youthful energy in their eyes and an excitement in the fact

that they had their whole lives ahead of them....an innocence almost.

It is a 'look' and a face, we as children, didn't and couldn't really appreciate 

and know.

Mom would have been 92 years old today.

What I Do For My Dads

Jim: 'Psst,psst! Hey Soph!'

Soph: 'Whoa?! What are YOU doing down there?

 'I'm kinda waiting here for Ron. He's on his way down the road.

'You kinda made it seem urgent so I better come down to see.

 'I never did like steep stairs you know!

 'This is going to take forever!

'Phew! Almost there!

'Finally!

'This better be good.......'

Contemplative Monday

The quote below is taken from 'Heart Advice, Weekly Quotes from Pema Chodron.

STEADY AS A LOG

"Emotional turmoil begins with an initial perception.....a sight, sound, thought.....which gives rise to a feeling of comfort or discomfort.

This is the subtlest level of shenpa (click), the subtlest stage of getting hooked.

Energetically there is a perceptible pull; it's like wanting to scratch an itch.

We don't have to be advanced meditators to catch this.

This initial tug of "for" or "against' is the first place we can 

remain as steady as a log.

Just experience the tug and relax into the restlessness 

of the energy, without fanning this ember with thoughts.

If we stay present with the rawness of our direct experience,

emotional energy can move through us without getting stuck.

Of course, this isn't easy and takes practice."

Eclectic Sunday

A 'follower' (that does sound a little weird, I know) Alex Spoo, had this video on his Google+.

I was immediately struck by its accurateness of what it is like to grow up and be born 

homosexual in our culture/society.

The production of this video is very well done. The 'images' speak for themselves.

Enjoy this last Sunday in November everyone.

Green Lava

Sophie and her new friend Maggie (sister Mim's dog) had a great time this week exploring 

this park on the western side of Halifax.

The sun rarely gets a chance to shine along this path, thus the great abundance of moss growing everywhere.

These two had a ball scurrying up and down this side of the path.

It was like an enchanted forest along this trail.

It was quiet, very shaded, and illuminated in green hues.

It was all quite magical actually.

A Fine Evening

What do you get when you put

pomegranate, 

mango,

peanuts,

banana,

cilantro and green onion all together? 

Well, just the best toppings for Green Curry Chicken! That's what!

Wednesday evening we went for supper at our friend Mary's. She had prepared this recipe

which was given to her by a chef friend.

Mary's place used to be Sophie's  'second' home when she was younger. Sophie stayed there during the day and some overnights. Mary runs 'Country Critter Sitters' just down the road a ways in the next community.

Back to this meal....all I can say is that it was absolutely delicious! Bursting with an abundance of flavours with just the right 'kick' to make it an authentic Thai dish.

The curry was placed over sticky rice and we then added the accoutrements.

Besides stuffing our faces all night we were also there to formally meet Mary's new puppy, Owen.

He is an English Setter and is 12 weeks old. As can be seen here, he played himself out entertaining us all evening long. What a cutie he is! And Sophie actually tolerated him.

If you want to see Owen 'in action', go to Sophie's blog here:
'fromsophiesview'